Emeralds Beat Hops, 11-9, in Independence Day Slugfest
July 4, 2025 - Northwest League (NWL)
Hillsboro Hops News Release
(Hillsboro, OR) The Hops returned to Hillsboro Ballpark on Independence Day to complete the second half of the series against the Eugene Emeralds, with the first three played in Eugene. The Emeralds took the contest 11-9, making it Hillsboro's fifth straight loss and their fifteenth loss of their last sixteen.
Cristofer Torin and Slade Caldwell hit back-to-back singles to start the bottom half of the first inning. Druw Jones, who has been on a hot streak, hit a double to score Torin and give the Hops a lead. Junior Franco grounded out, but scored Caldwell on the play to extend the lead to 2-0. Jansel Luis capped off the inning with an RBI single, putting the Hops up 3-0.
The Emeralds answered back in the top of the second. Zane Zielenski reached on an error by Jansel Luis to lead off the inning. Dayson Croes hit a single to put runners on first and second. John West caught Zielenski stealing, but Croes reached second on the play. A walk put runners on first and second, setting it up for Scott Bandura. Bandura hit a ground-rule double to score one, and Jonah Cox singled to drive in two and tie the game at 3-3. The bleeding did not stop there, as Bo Davidson hit an in-the-park home run to score Cox and himself, and give Eugene a 5-3 lead.
Zilenzki drew a walk to start the top of the third. He successfully stole second and was driven in by Quinn McDaniel to add onto Eugene's lead 6-3.
Kevin Sim singled to start the bottom of the fourth. Sim stole second and advanced to third as Cristofer Torin singled himself. Caldwell doubled to drive in Sim, putting Hillsboro within striking distance of Eugene, 6-4.
John West did not make it out of the fifth after allowing a ground-rule double to Charlie Szykowny, a single to Zielinski, an RBI single to Croes, and a walk to load the bases. West exited the game with the Emeralds up 7-4 and the bases loaded with one out. Ricardo Yan allowed a walk to the first batter he faced, scoring Zielinski and making it 8-4. A sacrifice fly scored another run to add to Eugene's lead to 9-4.
Greg Farone pitched four innings for Eugene. He allowed ten hits, four earned runs, a walk, and struck out four. Austin Strickland took over in the bottom of the fifth. Hope was not gone for Hillsboro, after Jackson Feltner drew a walk and Angel Ortiz hit a two-run homer to make it a 9-6 game.
The Hops inched closer to a comeback, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth. It started with a walk by Caldwell, which effectively knocked Strickland out of the game, and Matt Dunaway took the ball from him. Jones and Franco both singled, Franco driving in Caldwell. Luis singled to drive in Jones and put the Hops within a run of the Emeralds. Strickland struck out three, allowed two walks, and three earned runs.
Rocco Reid replaced Yan after he pitched 1.2 innings, striking out one and walking two. Reid tossed a clean seventh inning, but ran into trouble in the eighth. He surrendered three consecutive singles, allowing Eugene to take a 10-8 lead. After recording a strikeout, Reid gave up another single with runners on the corners, bringing in the Emeralds' eleventh run. Edgar Isea then took over with one out and successfully closed out the inning, but not before Eugene extended their lead to 11-8.
The Hops threatened in the bottom of the ninth with runners on the corners with one out, coming from Luis and Feltner, both recording singles. Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly to score one and make it 11-9, but a fly out from Rojas ended the contest and the Hops' comeback efforts.
Luis and Torin both recorded three hits. Caldwell, Jones, Franco, and Ortiz all had two apiece. Both teams combined for 31 hits.
The Hops and Emeralds face off at 7:05 PM on Saturday. The pregame show starts at 6:50 PM on RipCity Radio 620 AM.
Northwest League Stories from July 4, 2025
- Ems Deliver Fireworks On The Field As They Clinch Series Victory Over Hillsboro - Eugene Emeralds
- Emeralds Beat Hops, 11-9, in Independence Day Slugfest - Hillsboro Hops
- Gilliland Leads C's to 9-2 Win - Vancouver Canadians
- Charlie Pagliarini Homers In 9-2 Loss - Everett AquaSox
- Sellout Crowd at Avista Stadium for 4th of July - Spokane Indians
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- Sox Fall in Extra's to Vancouver - Everett AquaSox
- Sellout Crowd Wowed by Key, But Tri-City Offense Locked up by Spokane - Tri-City Dust Devils
- C's Walk off Frogs in Extras - Vancouver Canadians
- Druw Jones Homers, But Hops Lose 14th of Last 15 - Hillsboro Hops
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